Skadarlija

Skadarlija (Serbian Cyrillic: Скадарлија) is a vintage street, an urban neighborhood and former municipality of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade municipality of Stari Grad (Old town) and generally considered the main bohemian quarter of Belgrade, styled as the Belgrade Montmartre.

Location

Skadarlija is located less than convert|300|m|yd north-west of Terazije, central Belgrade. It begins right below the Republic Square and stretches along the short, winding Skadarska Street. One of the most famous streets in Belgrade, it is less than convert|400|m|yd long. It connects the Despot Stefan Boulevard and ends at the Dušanova Street, near the Bajloni open green market and the Mira Trailović Square, where it extends into the neighborhood of Dorćol. [ cite book |title=Beograd - plan i vodič |edition=III edition |publisher=Geokarta |date=2007 |pages=p. 21 ISBN 978-86-459-0297-2 ]

Administration

Skadarlija became a separate municipality of Belgrade in 1952, after the previous post-World War II division of Belgrade into raions from 1945 to 1952 ended. That municipality included a large portion of urban Belgrade, mainly the Danube oriented neighborhoods [cite book |title=Mala enciklopedija Prosveta |edition=I edition |volume=Vol. II |pages=p. 562 |year=1959 |publisher=Prosveta |location=Belgrade] like Dorćol, Jalija, Stari Grad, etc. On January 1, 1957 it merged into the new municipality of Stari Grad. Today, Skadarlija forms a "local community" ("mesna zajednica"), sub-municipal administrative unit, within the municipality of Stari Grad. According to the 2002 census of population, the local community of Skadarlija has formatnum:5942 inhabitants. [cite press release |title=Popis stanovništva po mesnim zajednicama - prvi rezultati |publisher=Grad Beograd-Zavod za informatiku i statistiku |date=2002-07-26 ]

History

The history of Skadarlija began in the 1830s with the settlement of Gypsies in the abandoned trenches in front of the ramparts. The 1854 town plan of Belgrade reveals that the Gypsy hovels had been replaced by brick buildings into which artisans, caterers, petty clerks and others moved. The whole locality was referred to as the "Gypsy Quarter" until 1872, when the street was named after the town of Skadar), which was part of the Serbian medieval state (today Shkodër in Albania). "Skadarska ulica", Serbian for "Skadar street", is still the official name.

Skadarlija began to acquire its bohemian character in the last few decades of the 19th century, and particularly after 1901,when the well-known "Dardaneli" inn was demolished and its guests, prominent writers and actors, moved to the Skadarlija inns or kafanas. The best-known of these were "Tri šešira" ("Three hats"), "Dva jelena" ("Two deers"), "Zlatni bokal" ("Golden chalice"), "Bandist", "East", "Guild", "Vuk Karadžić" and "Two Sergeants". The first three of these still survive today, accompanied by some new restaurants like "Ima dana" ("There will be days"), "Skadarlija" (demolished in 2006), "Dva bela goluba" ("Two white doves").

The end section of Skadarlija is known as Skadarlija atrium. It is mostly occupied by the brewery that belonged to one of the most distinguished Belgrade families before World War II, the Czech-originating Bajloni family. It was known for producing very tasty "Aleksandar" beer, made from thermal waters that springs out on three places in the very backyard of the brewery. The water is located 80 to 300 meters (250 to 1000 feet) under the surface. After 1945, the brewery became part of the "BIP" brewery but was later closed. Thermal water for drinking, however, was bottled until the early 2000s. Under the brewery is a complex of "lagums" (subterranean galleries or catacombes). They were used as a storage rooms for the beer barrels. As of 2008, the entire inner complex is abandoned and ready for demolition.

The house of Đura Jakšić, a well known writer and painter who lived and died in Skadarlija, has been turned into a meeting place for the poets participating in the Skadarlija Evenings event. Its renovation and restoration began in 1968 in accordance with the designs made by a group of prominent artists: architect Uglješa Bogunović (1922), writer and painter Zuko Džumhur (1921-89), painter Mario Maskareli (1918-96), sculptress Milica Ribnikar-Bogunović (1931), amongst others. They managed to preserve its existing values and introduce modern facilities without interfering with its historical features. In the late 1960s, Skadarlija regained fame as the center of youth and bohemian artists of Belgade. [ cite book|title=Mala enciklopedija Prosveta |edition=IV edition |volume=Vol. III |pages=p. 400 |year=1986 |publisher=Prosveta |location=Belgrade] Plans for further adaptations were made in 1977, but remained on paper until 2008.

Bohemian life

Well-known but mostly poor poets and writers became regular visitors of Skadarlija in the early 20th century, not just from Serbia but from the wider Yugoslav areas, even before the Yugoslav state was formed as such in 1918. The most prominent residents and visitors in Skadarlija's Bohemian history include Đura Jakšić, Dobrica Milutinović, Tin Ujević, Gustav Krklec, Stevan Sremac, Antun Gustav Matoš, Zuko Džumhur and Momo Kapor.

After decades of performing in Skadarlija's restaurants and outdoors, some singers and performers became synonymous with Skadarlija: singers Olga Jančevecka, Diva Đokić, Sofka Vasiljković, Mila Matić, actress Ljubica Janićijević who impersonated Gypsy fortune-tellers , and Radomir Šobota as a drummer. ["Skadarlija - duh boemije koji iščezava"; RTS documentary on Skadarlija; 2008 ]

Restaurants are proud of their lists of worldwide celebrities who visited them over the decades. Often, they post photographs of their visits on the walls. For example, over the years, "Tri šešira" welcomed numerous famous guests such as guitarist Jimi Hendrix, politicians George H.W. Bush, Josip Broz Tito, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Sandro Pertini, and chess player Anatoly Karpov.

Present

The present Skadarlija, a short and curved street, is a remarkable Belgrade tourist attraction. It includes well-known restaurants, hotels (e.g. Le Petit Piaf), art galleries, antique and souvenir shops, and the "Sebilj" fountain. Groups singing either Gypsy music or traditional city music and actors dressed in traditional Serb costumes perform freely down the street. Unlike other similar and popular places in Belgrade that are considered , Skadarlija is known as a place visited by entire families with children, and young couples. Restaurants offer the typical national cuisine, most notably the "roštilj" (grilled meat) with "pivo" (beer). Skadarlija's cafés, restaurants, art exhibits and cobblestone promenade attract up to formatnum:20000 people daily. The street is a car-free zone but it would be unsuited for traffic anyway because it is too narrow and with bumpy cobblestones (Turkish: "kaldrma").

Since 1993, the official opening of the summer season in Skadarlija (restaurants are open the entire year) has been marked by rising a "bohemian flag". [Citation | last = | first = | author-link = N.Belić | title = Boemski barjak u Skadarskoj ulici | newspaper = Politika | pages = p. 23 | language = Serbian | year = 2008 | date = 2008-04-23 | url = ] The flagpole is located in front of the "Zlatni bokal" restaurant. The ceremony is always attended by celebrities, including popular and opera singers, actors, and artists.

Future

In February 2008, plans were announced for the complete reconstruction of the lowest section of Skadarlija (Skadarlija atrium, an area of about convert|1.5|ha|acre) bounded by the streets of "Skadarska", "Zetska", "Cetinjska" and "Dušanova". [Citation | last = | first = | author-link = Daliborka Mučibabić | title = Skadarlija 2010 - novi život boemske četvrti | newspaper = Politika | pages = | language = Serbian | year = 2008 | date = 2008-02-20 | url = http://www.politika.co.yu/rubrike/Beograd/Skadarlija-2010-novi-zivot-boemske-chetvrti.lt.html] Works are scheduled to begin in September 2008 and due to be finished by December 2010. A new multi-functional center will include two hotels, subterranean garage, restaurants, museum and a new pedestrian zone comprising a wide promenade between the "Skadarska" and "Cetinjska" streets. The restaurant "Stara Skadarlija", two authentic walls of the brewery, the old tower and shopping mall, boiler room and "lagums" will be preserved but with additional functions. The tower will be illuminated and visible from the city neighborhoods below. The shopping mall's higher floors will be turned into a hotel. Lagums will be open for the public and turned into souvenir and gift shops. The atrium will be turned into a new commercial shopping mall and a hotel with subterranean garage of formatnum:1000 parking spaces. Water springs will be co-opted and protected, and new drills will be added to the existing three springs, as a sort of a tourist attraction. The most controversial aspect at the moment appears to be the concept of a glass box-shaped membrane, lit from the inside, which is suppose to engulf the "Stara Skadarlija" restaurant. The idea is opposed by the local population. [Citation | last = | first = | author-link = | title = Zasijaće Skadarlija | newspaper = Večernje Novosti | pages = | language = Serbian | year = 2008 | date = 2008-02-23 | url = http://www.novosti.co.yu/code/navigate.php?Id=14&status=jedna&vest=116681&datum=2008-02-23] Except for "Stara Skadarlija", changes will mainly occur in the side from the "Cetinjska" street which is considered a low preservation urban area, unlike the Skadarlija side, which is protected by the law and no new constuction works will be allowed. As the altitude difference from top to bottom of the projected area is convert|17|m|ft, it is "de facto" going to be step-like dug into the ground for almost three floors.

References

External links

* [http://www.hotel-m.com/html/galerija/bg_skadarlija01.htm Images of Skadarlija]